Vanessa Lann is a Dutch-American composer, pianist and educator living and working in the Netherlands. Born in Brooklyn, she began studying piano at the age of five. Her first compositions also stem from her childhood years.
After graduating from Harvard University she came to the Netherlands in 1990 to continue her studies in composition with Theo Loevendie and Louis Andriessen at The Hague’s Royal Conservatory.
Shortly after arriving in the Netherlands she received her first commission from ensemble Orkest De Ereprijs and has continued to write for Dutch and international musicians, ensembles and festivals ever since.
She now has a total of 95 commissioned works to her name, ranging from solo pieces to works for large ensemble, choir, and orchestra. She has also worked on a number of scenic and staged projects with a range of interdisciplinary collaborators.
In 2022 Vanessa Lann was appointed as the first Head of Composition for Film and Theatre at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Arnhem. In this part-time position she leads an international team of academic staff and visiting professionals from the film and music sectors to provide a dynamic, practically-based curriculum designed to equip students for future careers in composing for film and the live performing arts.